BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Martin County Sheriff John Kirk urged the Fiscal Court to take action on a growing hazard along New Route 3, telling magistrates at their Nov. 20 meeting that he has been fielding calls about feral horses increasingly drawn to salted roadways.

“Now that they’re starting to salt the roads, the horses are coming to the road more often,” Kirk said. “I got a message from Roger Maynard saying they are tearing his yard all to pieces. These are wild horses.”

Kirk told the court he cannot act without formal authorization.

“You have to take these horses up, corral them and advertise in the paper for two weeks to give the rightful owner a chance to come forward,” he said. After that, each animal must be vetted and checked for tattoos or identifying marks.

“We’re going to have to do something. Somebody is going to get killed if we don’t get these horses off the road. There have been several accidents.”

Kirk recalled one crash in which 11 horses were on the roadway and a driver struck three of them.

“It totaled his car, and it’s a wonder it didn’t kill him,” he said. “Two of them died before I got there, and we had to put one down.”

In another incident, a man driving a Geo Tracker hit a horse.

“It’s like hitting it in a pop can,” said Kirk. “It was a mare with a foal; it ejected the foal. So that was two horses killed there.”

Kirk said he is willing to assist if the court chooses to act.

“If the court wants to take this up, maybe get some volunteers,” he said. “Just anybody can’t handle a horse, but we’re going to have to corral these horses.”

He noted he has corrals, trailers and excess feed.

“I’ve sold all my cattle, so I have a lot of hay,” he said. “So if you want to do this, we can take them to the farm I have leased in Lawrence County. But they won’t be my horses. I would be doing it out of the kindness of my heart to solve these problems. I know it’s a big burden feeding all these horses and the vet bill.”

Kirk said the issue stems from residents turning horses loose in past winters.

“They started breeding and breeding,” he said.

“I’m willing to do anything that I can do,” he told the court. “It’s up to you guys to make the move. I have trailers to haul them in, but I have to have help to corral them.”

Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty agreed with the sheriff.

“I love horses, but I love people more,” Lafferty said. “And people here love horses—and I get it, but not up to the point of a child getting killed or some of our family.”

Deputy Judge Carolea Mills said she contacted the Kentucky Humane Society, which came and picked up several horses. She said a local resident claimed he owned the horses on New Route 3; therefore, the Humane Society could not take them.

The sheriff said he needs the name of the man claiming ownership.

“I can approach him,” said Kirk. “If they’re his horses, he needs to take care of them. We can get him for animal abuse if he doesn’t. Don’t own an animal if you can’t take care of it.”

Lafferty said his office would get the name to the sheriff and follow up at the next meeting.

In other action, the court:

• Authorized a maintenance agreement with Sheila Maynard, dba Professional Cleaning, for the Courthouse Annex at $3,229.17 per month for a term of three years.
• Tabled bids for FEMA HMGP and MRCS EWPP Home Buyout Project Management and Administrative Services.
• Opened and accepted a bid from “GSI International” for a FEMA project to repair Big Lick Road for $159,344.
• Opened and approved a bid for a new 911 vehicle from Dutch’s Chevrolet-Ford for $59,904 for a Ford F-250.

Magistrate Kermit Howell asked whether the money for the truck would come from the 911 Fund.

“Or the LGEA,” Mills said. “Either one of those could cover it.”

• Approved a memorandum of agreement with the state for a FY2026 KY Heritage Council America250KY Subgrant for the Martin County Courthouse Square interpretive exhibit project.
• Approved contracts with electrical inspectors Jerry Deskins and Justin N. Gibbs.
• Approved appointment of Jessi Muncy and Jarrod Goforth to the Martin County Cooperative Extension District Board.
• Approved Dwayne Mills’ reappointment to the Martin County Board of Health for a two-year term.
• Approved the hiring of Donna Todd as a part-time transport officer for $11 per hour.
• Approved Justin Dalton’s promotion from part-time to full-time at $14.50 per hour at the county garage.
• Heard the first reading of a budget amendment for $1,938,807 in unbudgeted receipts.
• Approved a claims list with a grand total of $534,352 and attachments showing $9,100, $41,000 and $899.